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The triumph of persuasion over force is the sign of a civilized society. - Mark Skousen, Persuasion versus Force |
Today at work we were discussing the recent news that AT&T will take a $1 Billion dollar non-cash accounting charge as a result of the recent Health Care Act. Surprisingly not many of my coworkers were even aware of this news. We discussed what effect this may have on our pay and benefits. Most of the group expressed their disdain over the Act. However two coworkers wouldn't accept the fact that this Health Care Act is bad for our country.
The first, lets call him Boris, made the argument that this bill will cost AT&T money, but it won't affect our pay or benefits. He is normally an intelligent guy, but when it comes to economics he just doesn't get it. He believes that if AT&T shows a profit then that profit is coming out of our pay. We tried our best to explain to him that when AT&T loses money, they are going to pay their employees less, not more. The same is true of the insurance companies. When insurance mandates increase costs, companies will pass the expenses down to their customers and employees.
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A few years ago, I was watching a story of how the terrorist group Hamas acquired power in the Palestinian territory. While the Fatah faction was busy "governing," it was Hamas and its leaders that were providing social services, health care, social programs, food and money to the poverty stricken Palestinian people. When the call for direct elections came, the Palestinian people elected Hamas to run their territories. It was the classic tale of "you scratch my back and I'll starch yours. "
For many years, the Democratic Party in the United States, in the inner cities, and in Washington, have maintained power by using the Treasury to provide entitlements, regulations, social programs and more to the American people. It started in the 1930s when Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Democratic Congress of that era, raided the Treasury to provide relief funds to the down and out, social security, welfare and more. This caused the Democrats to maintain power in the 1930s and early 40s and afterwards for 40 years. This practice continues today.
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Back in the 1950s and 60s, African-Americans stood up and demanded their equality in American society. Thus, the Civil Rights Movement was born. They cried and shouted that the belief of 'separate by equal," and businesses catering to whites only was an abomination, a tyranny and an unjust policy. In the 1960s, with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, African-Americans achieved their goal of equality. The United States stood proud.
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John Locke made the argument that if one person did not have a right to coerce or control another person, that he could not transfer this right, that he did not possess, to a third party. Thus, Locke not only questioned the divine rights of kings and popes, but also the "rights" of democracies. Later, he changed his mind and accepted a version of Thomas Hobbes' "social contract", which was later popularized by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The social contract effectively said that all people are obliged to obey the dictates of whatever political power is in control of a given area, and to "render Caesar's unto Caesar".
Later, Josiah Warren and Lysander Spooner, political activists in the US, argued for Locke's original case, saying that no person could logically delegate a right they did not possess to a third party, and that no group calling itself a government could legitimately claim to have power a person without his or her consent, thus leaving all people as sovereign individuals.
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If I were to ask people where do the rights of Americans come from, what would the reader think that the answer would be? Would the reader say from the Constitution? Would the reader say that it comes from statutes and other laws? Most likely they may answer “yes,” but they are wrong.
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For many years, the United States has always involved itself in the affairs between Israel and the Palestinians. Both sides have literally been dragged to many a peace process by the U.S. only to see that peace has never materialized. Decades after decades, the Israelis have attempted to seek peace and have offered many proposals in that effort, only to see the Palestinians shoot them all down. Yet, time and time again, the United States continues to drag both sides, offering foreign aid to both, all for the purpose of getting an elusive peace plan to the satisfaction of all.
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Most politicians, and probably most Americans, see health care as a right. Thus, whether a person has the means to pay for medical services or not, he is nonetheless entitled to them. Let's ask ourselves a few questions about this vision.
Say a person, let's call him Harry, suffers from diabetes and he has no means to pay a laboratory for blood work, a doctor for treatment and a pharmacy for medication. Does Harry have a right to XYZ lab's and Dr. Jones' services and a prescription from a pharmacist? And, if those services are not provided without charge, should Harry be able to call for criminal sanctions against those persons for violating his rights to health care?
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It is not often that I link to the American Conservative Magazine but I found this article very interesting. Real libertarians do not demand labor protectionism, bigger government bureaucracies and a police state on the border.
Mr. Unz was interviewed on Free Talk Live on Saturday.
Talk TV sensationalists and axe-grinding ideologues have fallen for a myth of immigrant lawlessness.
By Ron Unz
According to Lou Dobbs, "a third of the prison population in this country is estimated to be illegal aliens," and Glenn Beck regularly warns of "an illegal alien crime wave." Congressman Tom Tancredo insists, "The face of illegal immigration on our borders is one of murder, one of drug smuggling, one of vandalism for all the communities along the border, and one of infiltration of people coming into this country for purposes to do us great harm." Michelle Malkin adds an even more terrifying note, calling our borders "open channels not only for illegal aliens and drug smugglers, but terrorists, too." Even as far back as 2000, the highly regarded General Social Survey found that 73 percent of Americans believed that immigration caused higher crime rates, a level of concern considerably greater than fears about job losses or social unity.
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Get yer Baileys out! Longtime Reason science correspondent Ronald Bailey will be making two speaking appearances in the greater New York City area next week, at Princeton Univ. and at The New York Salon.
Info on the Princeton gig:
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In 1995, Libertarian Presidential Candidate, Harry Browne wrote a book called Why Government Does Not Work. In it, he wrote his take on issues and offered his proposals on how to solve this nation's challenges. What caught my eye at the time was his proposal in reforming Health Care. I was thinking about his solutions recently when Barack Obama had his Health Care summit at the Blair House.
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Today, I was watching and hearing the Barack Obama Health Care Summit. Republicans and Democrats sat down and discussed the present Health Care bill supported by the President and what they liked and disliked about it all. What caught my eye and ears, was when some members of Congress used sob stories and emotionalism to convince that those who were opposed were "ugly," "insensitive" and "mean-spirited." Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) used a sob story of a farmer who wrote to his office stating that the farmer had difficulty paying for his insurance and for those who work under him (it was later discovered that the farmer in question was a relative of one of the Senator's political aides). Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) used a story of a woman in her district that wrote to her stating that because she cannot afford health insurance, she had to use her dead sister's false teeth instead of getting her own pair. There were other sob stories that were presented at the summit and after a while, I felt nauseous.
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By DEREK HARPER Staff Writer, Press of Atlantic City
Municipalities and schools will no longer be able to charge more for copies of public records than what it costs to copy them, a state appeals court recently ruled.
Open-records advocates applauded the decision.
“You couldn’t possibly say the cost comes out to 75 cents a page” said John Paff, chairman of the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Open Government Advocacy Project. “As a libertarian, I know government is inefficient, but I would hope that New Jersey governments can produce a photocopy at least within 10 times the cost of a private vendor.”
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Richard A. Lee, Director of Communications for the Hall Institute of Public Policy – New Jersey, has 30 years of professional experience in journalism and public relations. At the Hall Institute, he is responsible for media relations and all promotional and marketing activities. He also conducts research and writes papers for the institute, focusing on media, government and politics. |
Having been in the room eight years ago when the State House Press Corps staged a mini-revolt in reaction to the McGreevey Administration’s attempt to set a new set of ground rules for a press briefing on the state’s fiscal condition, I must admit I was mildly amused to learn that history seems to have repeated itself in the early days of the Christie Administration.
Back in 2002, reporters walked out of a budget briefing when they were told they could not tape record the session nor could they quote by name the officials who would be outlining the issue and answering questions.
Fast forward to 2010 and the special address on the state’s budget crisis that Governor Christie delivered to the Legislature last week. According to Sunday’s Star-Ledger, the Governor’s staffers insisted that reporters refrain from using tape recorders and from quoting those conducting the briefing by name. The ground rules didn’t sit any better with the press corps this time around, but apparently a compromise of sorts was reached. Reporters were allowed to record the session, but still could not identify the officials giving the briefing.
What makes this case of déjà vu all the more intriguing is that Christie and McGreevey are on opposite ends of the political world – and that this is not an isolated similarity.
Shortly after he was elected in November, Christie tapped David Samson to head his transition committee — the same David Samson whom McGreevey chose as his Attorney General eight years earlier.
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Over a period of a few years, there have been individuals that have been claiming that the subject of Global Warming is real as well as a scientific fact. From individuals such as Robert Kennedy, Jr., Al Gore, Arianna Huffington, and others making this claim, they have all spoke in unison and stated that the debate was over and that no further discussion was necessary. Now, we find out that the science concerning this issue is faulty and that the debate is far from over. Nevertheless, the Global Warming alarmists, including the press, continue to peddle this belief that there is no need for further discussion or inquiry. One must ask "What is the reason for this?" The answer, to some, will be surprising.
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- Category: Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
Guttenberg is latest to repeal 'outdated' loitering and disorderly persons ordinances
Wednesday, February 17, 2010By KARINA L. ARRUEJOURNAL STAFF WRITERGUTTENBERG - Loiterers and loafers here are getting a break. The town recently repealed two ordinances - one for loitering and another for disorderly persons - that are considered out of date. Other towns with similar ordinances on the books are being asked to repeal them as well.
The two ordinances were tossed at the request of the New Jersey Libertarian Party's Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project, which has successfully had such ordinances removed in dozens of municipalities throughout the state.
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There are people in the U.S. that are connoisseurs of wines, soft drinks, guns, food, music, books, television movies and shows, as well as cheese. Me? I am a connoisseur of cars and trucks. I love all kinds of motor vehicles: Classics, Multi make, domestic and foreign.
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Wanaque amends its anti-loitering law
Sunday, February 14, 2010
BY TERESA EDMOND
Suburban Trends STAFF WRITEREleven years after the Supreme Court of the United States declared anti-loitering laws unconstitutional, the mayor and Borough Council on Feb. 9 adopted changes to the borough's anti-loitering ordinance to bring it into compliance with federal law.
Wanaque's repeal is "great," said John Paff, chairman of the Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project for the NJ Libertarian Party.